Hood sign for motor vehicles



I pri 13, E937.,v F. D. EASTMAN HOOD SIGN- FOR MOTOR VEHICLES Filed Dec. 22, 1954 PHONE Patented Apr. 13, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 16 Claims.

This invention relates to a hood sign for motor vehicles.

The principal object of my invention is to provide a sign adapted for quick and easy mounting upon or removal from the hood of an automobile or truck, and which when in use presents a neat appearance and such as will not detract but really add to the advertising value of the advertisement displayed thereon.

The sign of my invention is of Wire construction for lightness, strength and durability, as well as good appearance and economy, and so as to be less conspicuous with relation to the advertising card inserted therein, and is made, as

, hereinafter appears, so that there is nothing left loose to rattle when the car is in motion, and nothing that will be apt to mar the nish on the hood. Furthermore, the sign is constructed for attachment to and support upon the hood in such a way that it will always remain rigid and upright, and is designed to t under and upon one end of the hood so as to be applicable to any hood, regardless of differences in size or design.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view of an automobile hood showing my improved sign in place thereon;

Fig. 2 is a perspective of the sign itself on a larger scale but with its card removed;

Fig. 3 is a sectional detail on the line 3-3 of Figure 1, looking forwardly, and

Fig. 4 is a side view of a sign of slightly modi fled construction.

Similar reference numerals are applied to corresponding parts in these views.

Referring rst to Figs. 1 to 3, the sign designated generally by the numeral 5 comprises a holder 6 with a card 7 inserted therein and bearing the advertisement or other printing and/or illustration. This sign is mounted as hereinafter more fully described, so as to extend lengthwise of the longitudinal hinge 8 joining the halves of the hood 9. The sign is anchored by long attaching claws or fingers I0 at its one end, preierably, although not necessarily, at the rear end of the hood, the fingers being adapted to rest on the depressed ledge or shoulder II (Fig. 3) on which the hood itself is otherwise normally adapted to seat when closed and fastened, and being clamped on said ledge by the hood. The sign also has an intermediate support comprising legs I2 to straddle the hinge 8 and having rubber tips I3 to bear on the hood 9 on either side of the hinge, whereby to give longitudinal and lateral stability and prevent side-play of the front end of the sign, and, of course, help to sup-r port the sign as a whole in spaced relation to the hood and its hinge.

The holder 6, as appears in Figs. 2 and 3, co-mprises a vertically disposed, one-piece wire frame 5 or body I4 of rectangular form, large enough to accommodate the card 1. The latter is inserted from one end of the frame between resilient wire stays I5 welded or otherwise suitably secured by their bent right angle ends IS onto opposite sides of the frame. The resilience of the stays provides for the necessary give laterally when a fairly stili card is to be entered, and also provides for their return to normal position when the card is fully inserted. The ends of the stays on V the top are longitudinally offset with relation to the corresponding ends of the stays on the bot-l tom (see Fig. l), whereby to facilitate entry of the card; the end or the card can be threaded into one after another of the pairs of stays much more readily than into two opposed pairs at one time. Once the card is in place, the resilience of the stays, coupled with the long frictional bearing of each stay'on the side of the card avoids any likelihood of the card drifting out 5 endwise or being pulled out too easily. The card itself is usually stii enough to prevent any serious buckling under wind pressure, and is also preferably of a material not alected by rain or dampness, for obvious reasons.

Two transverse supports I1 and I8, each formed by a piece of wire, are welded or otherwise suit-` ably secured to the bottom of the frame as shown, the support II being at one end and support I8 at the middle of the frame. The support II is much longer than the other and has its ends bent downwardly and forwardly as at I9 and 2D to properly offset the fingers Il) below the plane of the bottom of the frame, the wide, flat ngers being formed on the ends of the support by flattening the round wire. The support I8 has its ends bent to provide the legs I2 previously mentioned. A V-shaped brace 2I is formed from a single piece of wire and is disposed in a substantially horizontal plane and welded or other- 4- wise suitably secured at the ends of the arms thereof to the top of the support I'l as at 22, and at the other ends of the arms thereof, near the crotch 23, to the top of the support I8, as at 24. The crotch portion 23 is bent downwardly as indicated to reach under the bottom of the frame I4, and is also welded or otherwise suitably secured thereto. The brace, welded as it is, at somany points to the supports I'I and I8, and also to the frame I4, makes for rigidity and strength 55 and assures that the two supports will be in proper relation to one another and accordingly support the sign squarely at right angles to the plane of the top of the hood. The frame I4' of 5 the sign holder 6 shown in Fig. 4 is of greater height than the one just described but is supported and held in place in substantially the same way on supports I1 and I 8. The same bracing is also employed as at 2|. In the frame I4', however, the stays 25 and 26 are not similar to stays l5. The corner stays 25 are simply pieces of wire placed diagonally with respect to the corners of the frame and welded or otherwise suitably secured in place on opposite sides, leaving a space therebetween enough to take the card thickness, the corners of the card being flexed sufliciently to be entered therebetween. The middle stays 26 are V-shaped and have the two ends welded to the frame, two stays being fastened at each point to opposite sides of the frame for the same purpose as in the case of the other stays just referred to. The corner stays serve not only to hold the card but also to lend rigidity to this larger frame.

In applying the sign to a hood, the hood is first unfastened at both sides to permit entering the fingers I0 under the top thereof at one end on opposite sides of the hinge 8. Then, with the fingers I0 resting on the ledge l l and the rubber tips I3 resting on top of the hood on opposite sides of the hinge 8 for support of the sign, the hood is refastened.- The drawing down of the two halves of the hood causes a certain amount of flexing of the fingers IB from the full line position shown in Fig. 2 downwardly to the dotted line position, at the same time clamping the fingers onto the ledge ll, as indicated in Fig. 3. The rubber tips I3, due to the flexing of the fingers l0, are caused to bear down that much more firmly upon the hood so that there will be no likelihood of the sign moving from side to side or rattling when the car is in motion. On the other hand, the pressure of the rubber tips, due to the resilience of the fingers lll, will not be suflicient to mar the hood, and it is the resilience which accounts for the freedom from rattling. The fact that the sign hooks under and rests upon the hood at one end not only facilitates the application thereof to a hood but enables use of one sized sign on different sizes and designs of hoods. The lower sign illustrated in Figs. 1-3, is usually preferred because it gives better visibility, but the higher sign of Fig. 4 is satisfactory in many cases where, due to the design of the car, the sign does not in any way interfere with good visibility. It is to be observed in Fig. 4 that the fingers IG are shown in full lines in their normal position and in dotted lines in the flexed position occupied thereby when the sign is applied to a hood, simi- 60 larly as above described with regard to Fig. 2.

I claim:

1. An attachment for the hood of a motor vehicle comprising a frame having two attaching claws arranged to be engaged on one end of a hood and clamped under the halves of the hood on the ledge thereofon opposite sides of the longitudinal hinge of said hood, the frame being arranged to extend lengthwise relative to said hood over said hinge, and means for supporting said frame comprising supports extending downwardly from the frame on opposite sides of the hinge and arranged to bear on top of the hood.

2. An attachment for the hood of a motor vehicle comprising a frame having two attaching claws arranged to be engaged on one end of a hood and clamped under the halves of the hood on the ledge thereof on, opposite sides of the longitudinal hinge of said hood, the frame bein-g arranged to extend lengthwise relative to said hood, and means for supporting said frame on the hood, said claws being elongated and normally disposed with the free ends projecting upwardly out of the substantially horizontal plane in which the other ends are disposed with the supporting means, and said claws being resilient and arranged to be flexed downwardly in the fastening down of the hood thereupon, whereby said supporting means is resiliently urged toward and held in engagement with said hood.

3. A sign for quick detachable mounting over the hood of a motor vehicle comprising, in a unitary assembly, a sign body arranged to be disposed substantially vertically over the middle of the hood at one end thereof, a single fasten.- in-g therefor .at one end comprising two laterally spaced claws at the bottom thereof arranged for quick entry under or removal from beneath one end of the hood and to be detachably clamped on the hood ledge by the hood in the fastening down thereof, and a single support on the bottom of said body in longitudinally spaced relation to said fastener and comprising at least one cushioned anti-skid foot arranged to rest on top of the hood and support the sign body in elevated relation thereto.

4. A device of the class described comprising a substantially vertical frame adapted to receive a sign, and two transverse supports secured to the bottom of said frame in longitudinally spaced substantially horizontal relation, the one support having means for engagement under one end of a hood of a moto-r vehicle or the like, and the other support having means for engagement on top of the hood at a point spaced from said end.

5. A device of the class described comprising a substantially vertical frame adapted to receive a sign, and two transverse supports secured to the bottom of said frame in longitudinally spaced substantially horizontal relation, the one support having means for engagement under one end of a hood of a motor vehicle or the like,

and the other support having means for engagement on top of the hood at a point spaced from said end, and a substantially horizontal V- shaped brace having the `crotch thereof secured to the bottom of said frame in longitudinally spaced relation to the second support and having its arms diverging relative to the frame and intersecting said supports and secured thereto.

6. A device of the class described comprising a substantially vertical frame adapted to receive a sign, and two transverse supports secured to the bo-ttom of said frame in longitudinally spaced substantially horizontal relation, the one support being at the one end of said frame and having elongated ngers on the opposite ends thereof in downwardly offset relation to said frame and extending toward the lother end of said frame, said fingers being arranged to be engaged under one end of the hood of a motor vehicle o-r the like and be clamped thereby on the hood ledge, and the other support having downwardly reaching portions at opposite ends having cushion tips for engagement on top of the hood on opposite sides of the longitudinal hinge of the hood, the aforesaid fingers being normally disposed with the free ends projecting upwardly out of the substantially horizontal plane in which the other ends are disposed with the aforesaid cushion tips, and said ngers being resilient and arranged to be flexed downwardly in the fastening down of the hood thereupon, whereby said cushion tips are resiliently ur-ged toward and held in engagement with said hood.

7. In a sign holder, a substantially rectangular rigid open frame adapted to receive a flexible sign card, and flexible resilient wire stays secured upon and disposed normally in the planes of the opposite sides of the frame and serving to hold a card therebetween in said frame, said stays being flexible laterally to facilitate entry and removal of cards from the frame.

8. In a sign holder, a substantially rectangular open frame adapted to receive a exible sign card, and flexible resilient wire stays extending lengthwise of the top and bottom of the frame and having bent ends secured onto the frame so as to mount the stays in the planes of the opposite faces of said frame to hold a card therebetween in the frame, the ends of the upper stays being longitudinally offset with relation to the corresponding ends of the lower stays, for the purpose set forth.

9. A removable advertising sign device for location on the hood of a motor vehicle comprising, a plate member on which the advertising matter is displayed, means for removably securing the device to the hood comprising a transverse bar secured to the plate, foot-like members secured to the bar and designed to be inserted under the rear end of the hood, and pad members attached to the plate for location on the upper surface of the hood to provide a lateral support for the sign device.

10. A sign device comprising, a plate member, a a transverse bar secured to the rear end o-f the plate member and formed with depending portions at the ends of the bar that extend forwardly therefrom for insertion under the rear end of the the hood, a V-shaped brace member secured to the transverse bar, the apex part of said brace being attached to the lower edge of the sign device, a transverse bar secured to the V-shaped member having dep-ending end portions, and cushion pads on the end portions.

11. A sign construction comprising, a plate member, means for removably securing the mem,- ber to a motor vehicle hood comprising, a bar with flattened laterally spaced members, a brace bar connected to the bar and to the lower edge of the plate near its mid-length point, and a bar secured to the front end of the brace and having pad portions thereon.

12. A sign construction comprising, a plate member, means for removably securing the member to a motor vehicle hood comprising a bar with flattened laterally spaced members, a brace bar connected to the bar and to the lower edge of the plate near its mid-length point, and a bar secured to the front end of the brace and having pad portions thereon, the bar with spaced flattened ends being designed for insertion under the upper rear end of the hood and the pad portions for engagement with the upper surface of the head, as described.

13. A removable advertising sign device for location on the hood of a motor vehicle comprising, an upright member on which the advertising matter is displayed, means for removably securing the device to the hood comprising a transverse b-ar secured to the upright member, foot-like members secured to the bar and designed to be inserted under the rear end of the hood, and pad members attached to the upright member for location on the upper surface of the hood to provide a lateral support for the sign device.

14, A sign device comprising, an upright member, a transverse bar secured to the rear end of the upright member and formed with depending portions at the ends of the bar that extend forwardly therefrom for insertion under the rear end of the hood, a V-shaped brace member secured to the transverse bar, the apex part of said brace being attached to the lower `edge of the sign device, a transverse bar secured to the V-shaped member having depending end portions, and cushion pads on the end portions.

15. A sign construction comprising, an upright member, means for removably securing the member to a motor vehicle hood comprising; a bar with flattened laterally spaced members, a brace bar connected to the bar and to the lower edge of the upright member near its mid-length point, and a bar secured to the front end of the brace and having pad portions thereon.

16. A sign construction comprising, an upright member, means for removably securing the member to a motor vehicle hood comprising a bar with flattened laterally spaced members, a brace bar connected to the bar and to the lower edge of the upright member near its mid-length point, and a bar secured to the front end of the brace and having pad portions thereon, the bar with spaced flattened ends being designed for V insertion under the upper rear end of the hood and the pad portions for engagement with the upper surface of the head, as described.

FLOYD DI. EASTMAN.l 

